Staring Back
by goldensphere
Summary: Ash and Misty accidentally get locked inside the school conference room. Will the two survive?


**Hi everyone! Here's another one-shot. Enjoy reading!  
**

 **Warning: This story may get a bit dark near the end. Literally.**

 **I do not own Pokémon in any way!**

* * *

It all started when four nine-year-old friends, Gary, Leaf, Ash, and Misty, had gotten into a little argument on who was a better hider. It was the end of school when they sat on the benches outside the building, and Gary had been bragging about how he had been the best at playing hide-and-seek back when they were younger and that he always will be the best.

"That's not true!" exclaimed Leaf, crossing her arms. "I remember finding you so easily all the time. And weren't you the worst at finding everyone in their hiding place? Except when finding Ash, you took _forever_ looking for the rest of us!"

"Hey!" Ash cried angrily. He was ignored.

"Did not!" shouted Gary. "I found you all in less than five minutes!"

"When we were going easy on you so you wouldn't throw one of your tantrums."

"Leaf!"

"I'm just telling the tru—"

"GUYS!" yelled Misty loudly. "We have no way to prove who was best back when we were young! It's already passed! There's just one way to settle all of this!"

"Play hide-and-seek right now?" asked Ash.

"Exactly!"

They were silent for a while.

"Fine then," Leaf said finally. "That way, I'll prove that Gary is wrong."

"And I'll show that I'm not a bad hider and can hide just as well as any one of you guys. Maybe even better," Ash added.

"Then it's settled," said Misty. "Now, who's gonna count?"

"I'll count," said Gary unexpectedly, a strange smile spreading across his face. "You guys go and hide."

* * *

He couldn't hear Gary counting, but all that was on his mind was to find the best hiding place.

Ash went inside the school and looked around. He spotted a room with the lights off, but the door slightly open. Carefully, when no one was looking, the raven-head quickly slipped inside, finding himself in a crowded place filled with many shelves with different types of text books, work books, etc, and a large table with many chairs surrounding it. He was in the school conference room.

The boy spotted a few chairs and sofas near the edge of the room, farthest away from the door. He settled himself onto a comfortable sofa facing away from the door and lay down.

 _Gary will never find me here!_ he thought to himself.

Minutes later, another presence made its way into the the exact same room. Misty looked around carefully. In a place so crowded, there _had_ to be some good hiding places, she knew. Her eye caught a huge pile of books near the corner of the room. They were stacked up together forming something like a book wall. She could hide behind those! The girl tip-toed and ducked behind the books.

 _Gary won't even guess which **room** I'm even in! _she thought to herself, a smile forming on her lips.

* * *

Leaf waited. She waited and waited inside the broom cupboard she was hiding in. Despite being the intelligent girl she was, she was not very patient. And anyways, standing so still and stiff was starting to hurt. Slowly, she cracked the door open. Not a person was in sight.

 _That's funny,_ she thought to herself. _How long have I been waiting in here?_

Leaf slipped out of the cupboard and out of the classroom the cupboard was in. The hall was pretty much empty other then a whistling janitor and a few students from student council. She glanced at her wristwatch and gasped.

4:33pm?! She had been waiting inside that cupboard for more than an hour! No wonder her body ached and felt so stiff.

Her expression soon changed from shocked to dark. _That Gary!_ So it had been a prank all along. Of course Gary would do such a thing, then go back home! Her face reddened and Leaf stormed out of the school building with her backpack slung on her back. Since she had missed her first bus, she had to wait for the second one which came at 4:50.

 _Great. Another twenty minutes of waiting._

As soon as she reached home, Leaf went straight to her room and started planning revenge.

* * *

 _So_ _bored,_ Misty thought to herself. She put down the third book she had picked up to read: Identifying Strange Marine Life—Level 8. She sighed.

How long had she been waiting? To her it felt like hours. Maybe it _had_ been hours.

 _Nah,_ Misty thought to herself. _I've probably been waiting for thirty minutes or something. Time is just passing by slowly and I'm a fast reader._

She glanced over at the two fat books she had completely finished reading. Well they _had_ been quite interesting.

 _I wonder where Gary is now,_ she wondered. _Suppose he already found Ash and Leaf? What if I'm the last one he couldn't find? Then that would mean that I'm the winner! But then what if Gary doesn't come?_ Misty quickly shook the thought away _._ She couldn't risk getting out of her hiding spot and Gary finding her.

 _Just keep hidden a bit longer...  
_

After few minutes, Misty heard the door creak open. _He's here! s_ he thought. She crouched behind the pile of books as low as she could, waiting to see what would happen.

Footsteps entered the room, then stopped. After a while, the footsteps left, closing the door on the way out. The girl heard a jingle of keys, then a click.

 _A jingle of keys, and_ _a click?_ That could mean only one thing….

Misty's eyes widened in realization. Someone had just locked the door! She was trapped! Was this some kind of joke?!

Immediately, Misty stood up, rushed to the door, tried the doorknob, and indeed, she was locked inside. She banged on the door with her fists.

"Hey! Let me out!" she shouted as loudly as she could. But she was left unheard. There she saw the janitor whistling along with whatever he was listening to through his earphones, and walking away. Nobody else was in sight. How long had she been waiting? She banged on the door once more.

"HEY OPEN UP! GARY! IF THIS IS A JOKE THEN IT'S NOT FUNNY!" she screamed, banging on the door until her fists hurt. She was half expecting Gary to suddenly show up with a smirk on his face. But he didn't. Instead, she heard another voice.

"Huh? Misty?"

Misty quickly spun around. Though it was dark, she could make out the face of one of her friends standing behind her.

"Ash? Ash, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm hiding from Gary, of course," Ash responded logically, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing here? And what's with all the noise?"

"Ash, someone locked us inside here," Misty replied exasperatedly.

Ash immediately stopped rubbing his eyes, looking surprised.

"What? Why would anyone do that?"

"Because they didn't know we're in here," Misty explained. She suddenly looked up. "Hey, wait. If you were in here all that time, then how come I didn't notice? 'Cause you're not the most patient person I know, Ash Ketchum."

The raven-head rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh. Well, I kinda fell asleep so..."

Misty sighed.

"Well, at least, do you by any chance know what time it is?" she asked. She glanced at the window, adding, "'Cause it's gotten really dark outside."

"One sec, I'll check." Ash pulled out his iPhone from his pocket to check the time.

"I still can't believe your mom bought you an iPhone!" exclaimed Misty, frustrated. "I mean, even _I'm_ not allowed to have one yet. Why did _you_ get to have one?"

"Well, it's only for emergencies," replied Ash. Just then, the boy bit his bottom, staring at the screen. "Uh, Misty..."

"What's wrong?" asked Misty worriedly. Her mood changed immediately.

"You asked what time it is? Well, it _is_ pretty late. The time is 9:48pm."

"WHAT?!"

 _How could that be? Was it really **that** late?_

"Yup. No mistake." Ash checked one more time to make sure. He slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Now we have to think. If we're locked in, then how will we get out?"

Both kids stood thinking for a moment.

"First let's find the light switch," said Misty. They both started feeling around. Pretty soon, the light had been turned on.

"Okay, now what?"

Misty plopped onto a sofa. "Umm… I don't know."

Ash sighed and plopped onto the sofa in front of her. "Should we try looking out the window to see if anyone's out there who can help us?"

"Yeah good idea. You should go look!"

"What? Why me? You go check!"

"No way! I mean, it was _your_ idea!"

"But… But... What? You scared of the dark?" Ash said with a slight, taunting grin.

"No!" exclaimed Misty, despite the heat that rose to her cheeks. "Of course I'm not scared of the dark!"

She crossed her arms and turned her head away.

"Well, nor am I!" Ash yelled back, mimicking her action.

"Then go look!"

"But… But… Alright." Ash sighed in defeat. "I'll go look. Though it looks pretty dark out there," he added to himself.

The boy got up and started heading towards the window, his face slightly paled.

 _It'll be like staring into the black hole,_ he thought to himself.

Slowly, slowly, he crept closer and closer.

"HURRY UP ALREADY!"

Ash jumped near a foot into the air with a scream.

"Misty! You nearly scared the life out of me!" he shouted, breathing hard.

"So you really _are_ scared," she taunted.

"Am not!"

The boy bravely walked forwards more quickly to show that he was not afraid. With a deep breath, he peered outside.

Now, Ash hadn't really expected to see what he saw.

With a terrified shout, he ran as far as he could, away from the window.

"Ash! What's wrong?" exclaimed Misty, startled by the sudden action.

"G-g-g- GHOST!" Ash stuttered, pointing to the window.

"What _are_ you talking about?"

"Misty," the raven-head whispered, with widened eyes. "Hide! It might see you!"

"Are you sure you saw a ghost?" Misty asked incredulously, despite feeling a chill at the back of her neck. He really looked scared, which didn't seem a lot like Ash.

"I saw it so clearly. The pale face. The wide eyes. No body. Just a head floating. And it had what looked like _fire_ on the top of its head."

Ash nervously tucked down his red cap. "I used to think ghosts were cool," he added. "But when you actually see one, not a ghost Pokémon, like it's ready to kill, like it wants to suck out your soul and—"

"A-A-Ash! S-Stop it!" Misty cried. "You're giving me the creeps!"

"But it's true," insisted Ash. "If you don't believe me, you can go see yourself."

"I-I believe you!" She nervously sat beside Ash on the floor, farthest from the window. "What are we going to do?"

"We're gonna die." With a solemn nod, the boy put his hand on Misty's shoulder. "Nice knowing you, Mist."

"Ash! No!"

"Well, we can't sit here forever, can we? Hey, are you okay?"

Misty looked down. "Ash, I just thought of something."

"Yeah?"

"I know it won't make much a difference to my sisters that I'm not home yet. But shouldn't your mom be worried sick by now?"

"She probably thinks I went straight to Gary's house. Y'know, 'cause Gary and I were gonna have a sleepover today."

"Oh."

There was silence for a moment.

Just then, a strike of lightning crashed through the sky, followed by a boom of thunder.

"I think I hear the ghost," Ash whispered, as they both cowered in the corner. "You hear that wispy, wheezy sound? Like a a ghost breathing?"

"Ash, that's just the wind," Misty whispered back.

Another lightning cracked through the sky, then suddenly, the lights went out and the room became pitch black.

"Hey! What happened to the light?" Ash cried out in surprise.

"Probably a blown fuse," Misty replied. "But I can't see anything anymore!"

"The ghost," Ash whispered to himself. Then without warning, the boy got up and started running towards the window.

"Ash!" Misty cried out.

"You think you're greater than us, huh ghost?" the raven-head shouted at the window. "We may not have any Pokémon to defend us yet, but I wanna tell you that we're not afraid!"

Nothing happened except for another boom of thunder that was heard from outside.

"I said we're not afraid of you!" Ash repeated, breathing hard. "You hear?! So do your worst and see if I care!"

"Ash," Misty whispered. "Ash!"

"Do your worst!" Ash shouted again at the window.

"Ash!" Misty shouted more loudly this time. "Your phone is ringing!"

"I said— Huh? Wait, what?" Ash fished his phone out of his pocket, and indeed, it _was_ ringing.

"Uh, hello?" Ash said, putting his phone to his ear.

"Ash! Where are you?! I'm worried sick! Professor Oak just called and said you're not at the sleepover!" exclaimed Mrs. Ketchum, her voice laced with concern.

"Oh, hey Mom," replied Ash. "I was just— Wait, Mom! MOM!" Ash cried all of a sudden, his face lighting up.

"Ash! What's wrong? Where are you?"

"Mom!" Ash cried happily. "I'm so glad you called! You can help us escape now!"

"Escape?!" Delia yelled shrilly. "Ash! You haven't been _kidnapped,_ have you?!"

"No no!" The raven-head laughed. "Me and Misty are locked in the school conference room! Can you help us please?"

His mother's voice changed from worry, to relief, to disappointment.

"Is this a joke?" she cried. "Ash, baby, you could have just called me!"

Ash slapped his forehead for not thinking of that earlier.

"Guess I forgot," he mumbled guiltily.

"Ok, I'll be right there," said Delia. "Don't you worry me like that anymore. Love you!"

"You too," Ash replied and shut off his phone. He slipped in back into his pocket.

"We're saved!" the boy exclaimed joyfully while punching the air.

"Ash? Who was it?" asked Misty.

"It was Mom," he replied. "And she's coming to get us!"

"Woohoo!" cried Misty. She did a victory dance.

"We're not gonna die!" yelled Ash.

"I haven't been so happy in my life!" the girl laughed.

Ash did an attempt of a cartwheel. He failed, but was too happy to care.

"Hey I just noticed," said Misty. "The lights are back on!"

"Hey you're right!" replied Ash. "Though it's still storming outside."

They both beamed happily.

About ten minutes later, the door burst open.

"Ash baby! You're alive!" Mrs. Ketchum exclaimed with tears of joy, crushing her son with a tight hug.

" _Mom_ , not in front of _everyone_ ," Ash hissed.

Following her in was the rather confused-looking janitor with his earphones off, Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, and, to Misty's displeasure, her three sisters.

"What's Nurse Joy doing here?" asked Ash.

"I called her just in case of emergencies," replied Delia, still not letting go.

"Like, Misty," said Daisy. "Did you really have to come and make us get you at, like, ten pm?"

Misty scowled.

Soon they all started heading out the door of the conference room.

"Ash," Misty whispered, pulling him away from the group. "What about the ghost?"

Both kids turned and looked back at the window.

With a small smile, Ash beckoned her to come, and started heading towards the window.

"Hey, I don't see it anymore," he said. "I can't see outside. Just my reflection."

"That's it!" Misty cried. "Ash! What you saw wasn't a ghost! It was your own reflection!"

The boy's eyes widened in realization.

"You're right!" He laughed. "Now that makes sense!"

"Mystery solved."

They both laughed.

Just then, they heard the door close shut, a jingle of keys, then a click.

"Nooo!" they both shouted together and ran to the door. There they saw everyone walking away while Mrs. Ketchum was telling Officer Jenny how worried she was for her "little boy". The janitor had his earphones back on and was whistling happily along with the tone.

Ash and Misty looked at each other.

"We're doomed!"

* * *

 **And done! How was it? Don't forget to R &R and have a good day!  
**


End file.
